Background
Prior to 2021, funding for emergency shelter in Washington County was extremely limited. Shelter was only available in Washington County for adults experiencing homelessness at rotating locations during the harsh winter months, with no year-round options available for individuals (and few options for families).
Thanks to increased funding from the voter-approved Supportive Housing Services measure and Governor Kotek's state of emergency related to unsheltered homelessness through Executive Order (EO) 23-02 new resources have come online to increase services for people experiencing homelessness.
Service expansion for unhoused people is rapidly growing as the County threads together existing resources with a significant increase in funding provided by the regional voter-approved Supportive Housing Services measure. With these new and existing resources, Washington County offers over 430 shelter beds/units.
Washington County funded shelters provide a low barrier steppingstone that can offer that initial stabilization, as our shelter guests move towards long-term housing solutions. From July 2022 to June 2023 alone, Washington County supported almost 1,400 individuals moving from homelessness into stable housing. Some of these individuals accessed shelter during that journey and others were able to transition directly into long-term housing.
Shelter Overview
Shelter and access center programs act as the “front door” of our homeless system of care. They provide emergency services including hygiene, nutrition, and safe sleep, while also helping to connect families and individuals to housing, employment and supportive case management.
There are several shelter models:
- Bridge shelters: private shelter rooms for families and people with disabling conditions
- Congregate shelters: emergency shelter with shared living and sleeping accommodations
- Alternative shelters: such as safe rest pods or pallet homes
- Youth shelters: for unaccompanied youth under 18
- Winter and Severe Weather Shelters: added emergency shelter capacity during winter and weather events
See map below of existing and future shelters in Washington County.
To access emergency shelters please contact Community Connect at 503-640-3263 or work with your case manager at one of these partner organizations.
Severe Weather Shelters
In the event of severe weather conditions, additional shelter capacity is added throughout the County to ensure that everyone can come inside, and no-one is turned away during extreme weather events such as freezing temperatures and heat waves.
Severe Weather Shelters are NOT open at this time.
Related
Neighborhood Plans